Pre-printed Prescriptions

Some docs in our group have stamps for a certain number of Motrin or Vicodin pills that they stamp onto a prescription pad to save time and avoid fraud.
One of the docs in our department went one step further and is becoming amused with himself by handing out these pre-printed prescriptions to chronic pain patients who run out of Vicodin after their doctors’ offices have closed. He draws circles around the dosage and frequency and includes them with the patient’s discharge papers.

Not the best way to get good patient satisfaction scores, but if anyone wants copies, I’m sure McNeil Pharmaceuticals will be happy to send them to you.

13 Responses to “Pre-printed Prescriptions”

The stamps for Motrin are more to save time than to prevent prescriptions from being altered. Instead of writing out all the words in JCAHO-approved language, you can take a couple of seconds to stamp stamp sign sign and you’re done.

Don’t laugh. Where I live, any prescription is free for children on Medicaid. I have parents wait for hours in my ER when their child has a perilously high fever of 99F so they can get “free” acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Well, if hours of your time is equal to $3.50, fine by me. Here’s a script for 1oz.

The old adage — “when it does not cost you anything you will abuse it and not value it” applies to free medications from MediCal (medicaid, ect. in CA)by prescription (i.e. tylenol, motrin). I see slackers demanding scripts for tylenol, motrin, pedialyte because “my insurance” (the public trough) will pay for it. These folks, of course, have a pack of Lucky Strikes in their purse/pocket and resent me interupting their telephone call to friends on their $200 I-Phone complaining about the long wait of “over an hour” to have their progeny seen for the self diagnosed “cold” or “second opinion” because their clinic doc would not give them a script.
Welcome to the New Emergency Medicine – brought to you by Obamacare!
It’s getting close to the time to retire.

re all those patients who want scripts for their OTC Motrin and Tylenol, etc–i tell them that our president says that we are spending too much money on medine and that if the govt pays for their med it will cost $10 or $20, but if the patient pays for it, it will only cost $4 or $8. So I tell them that they have to pay for it themselves…”Welcome to ObamaCare!!!”